Into the Lion's Den
by looneylizzie
Summary: "Leo, welcome to the Lion's Den."
**Disclaimers: I own nothing you may recognize.**

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I stood at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, staring up at the dark and ominous-looking trees feeling a little nervous at the prospect of what I was about to do. I'd spent the better part of three years working towards this, and for the first time I felt something close to fear.

What if it went wrong? What if I got stuck in whatever form I'd take? What if I got stuck _in-between_ forms?

I shuddered. I didn't like the prospect of being half cow, half human for the rest of my life.

That is, if I turned into a cow. Knowing the kind of person I was, it probably would be something like that. Or a warthog. Something dumb. It was just my luck.

It'd been four years since I'd learned about Animagi in Transfiguration. Four years since I'd watched Professor McGonagall shrink into a cat, and then leap up onto my desk looking at me sternly, because she could tell I hadn't been paying any attention.

Well, I started paying attention then.

The moment that she leapt off of the desk, flawlessly turning back into a person, was the moment I decided I wanted to become an animagus.

For the rest of my Third year I pestered her with questions.

How does one become an animagus?

How do you get permission from the ministry?

Does it really take that long? Five years? I bet I could do it in three.

 _I have to wait until I'm seventeen?_

"Rules are made to be broken."

That's my motto. So naturally, upon learning that I'd have to wait, I stopped asking questions, and started doing my own research.

By the beginning of Fourth year I'd started the reading work. It was surprisingly easy to get my hands on the required books. Getting through them though, that took much longer, and was much more difficult.

Transfiguration became my best subject. It was the only O I got in any of my O.W.L.'s. It was the only class I paid attention in. And it was the only class I didn't goof around in.

I'm Leo Jordan. I'm not supposed to pay attention to class.

So I contrasted this by being extra rowdy in my other classes. Divination was always easiest.

It took until Sixth year for me to finish the reading work. Then the practical work started, which consisted of a thousand seemingly random little things, like holding a mandrake leaf in my mouth for an entire month.

Try doing that while commentating at a Quidditch match.

But even after that I couldn't just leap up and turn into some animal on command. No, you needed to learn and master every kind of human transfiguration possible.

Meaning I had to go and transfigure every part of my body. _Every. Part._

It's hard to transfigure one's own buttocks.

That took another year and a half.

So finally. _Finally._ I'd reached the point of no return. The point where I could begin to attempt transformation into my animagus form.

The problem? You couldn't know what your form was until you started. Meaning you couldn't visualize yourself as whatever animal you turned into, which is what established animagi described themselves as doing before changing.

So the first time was always the hardest.

Which lead me to the edge of the Forbidden Forest, in the middle of the night, attempting to prepare myself before performing one of the most dangerous acts of magic in existence.

It was chilly, my breath hung heavy in the air like mist on a damp spring morning. The nearly full moon provided enough light for me to see clearly in front of me, though I was sure that would change as soon as I entered the forest.

I looked back to the castle behind me, which normally looked tall and intimidating, and now practically looked warm and inviting compared to the forest.

Taking a deep breath, I stepped forward, steeling myself for the task I'd come to complete.

It took ten minutes for me to find a small clearing I liked. A small pond was in the center, with a few larger rocks scattered around, the grass thicker here than deeper inside the maze of trees.

It was quiet, with only the sounds of crickets chirping and the trees brushing against one another in the wind. The snow had only just melted, and the earliest signs of spring had shown itself in the previous week, which is when I decided it was time to come out here and try to turn for the first time.

I moved towards the largest rock and shrugged off of my jacket, shirt and shoes. Wearing less clothing was supposed to make it easier, but I didn't want to risk getting caught out in the forest wearing nothing but my knickers, so I left my jeans on.

The chill hit me when a breeze flew by, goosebumps appearing all along my arms.

Moving to a patch of grass that was relatively free of any rocks, I crouched down, one knee on the ground, my fists pushed into the soft grass, and my head bent down towards my knee, eyes shut as I tried to breathe calmly.

After five deep breaths I tried to visualize myself changing. I pictured myself slowly merging into something else, first a small dark shape, then a large white one, then disappearing all together.

That was bizarre.

I opened my eyes and looked around carefully, checking to make sure I was still alone, before resuming my position and trying again.

This time I wanted to see if imagining a specific animal would work. I racked my brain trying to find one that I was satisfied with, before settling on something I could live with, but wasn't thrilled as the prospect of being.

Beneath my eyelids I pictured myself growing, hair turning brown, my face stretching, arms and legs lengthening, before a tail sprouted out of my, now, hindquarters. I concentrated hard on the image, and focused all of my energy on morphing into the horse I pictured.

The image stayed for a moment before it began to change, this time of it's own accord. The horse began to morph into something else, something shorter, but larger, it's shape beginning to glow a yellowish hue, until it was too bright to look at.

My eyes snapped open, and I was unsure what to make of this new development.

A moment passed before I realized that my heart was racing and that my breathing had sped up. As I attempted to regain control of my breathing, a sharp pain hit my spine, causing me to fall forward.

I felt, as well as heard, a crack come from my ribs. I looked down to see my chest expanding, pushing against my skin, and looking absolutely disgusting.

Next, I felt my fingers change, and glanced at my hands, watching the nails sharpen, elongating and curling into claws that retracted into my thickening...paw?

My normally ebony skin was getting lighter and lighter, almost glowing, somehow morphing into a bright pink, and much thicker than before.

I pulled myself forward, towards the pond, in order to see my reflection in the water's surface.

My dark hair, grew out from its normal buzz cut close to my head and began sprout up all over my body, bright gold in color and thick in texture, but with short, bristle-like hairs.

I felt, rather than saw, my bones change, some elongating and some contracting, pulling my muscles along with them, suddenly much heavier than before.

I saw my nose change, first forced back into my skull and then out, merging with my mouth, set in a grimace as my teeth grew, more appearing, some flat and others sharp, all pushing against each other, trying to find a spot in my still too small gum line.

A tail pushed its way out from my spine, becoming an extension of my body, covered in the same golden hair I'd sprouted everywhere else, but with a thick tuft of longer strands at the end. As the tuft grew, so did the hair around my face, the longer strands tickling my nose as they blew in the wind.

Whiskers grew in, and I instantly felt the difference to my sensitivity to smell. My ears followed suit, growing wider and getting buried in the mess of hair that covered my neck. The pads on my feet grew thicker and thicker, bright pink in color as they became hairless.

I felt one last stretch in my spine, this time causing me to push onto my back feet, the last loud CRACK! of my bones causing me to call out in pain.

"RRRRRRRAAAAAAAWWWWWRRRRR"

The sound echoed through the forest as the last thing to change hit. My eyes, normally wide and narrow, became large circles, the iris changing from a light greenish hazel to a dark brown, like damp earth.

I gazed at my appearance in the undisturbed pond in front of me, taking in everything, and not daring to believe what I was seeing.

I was a lion.

My face contorted, teeth bared, and nose crinkled. The look faded as I tried to figure out what it was.

It returned when I realized I'd just seen what a lion looked like when it grinned.

My laugh came out as a series of deep chuffs, the low sound making me even more delighted at this entire prospect.

In a moment of pure jubilation, I tilted my head back and let out a deafening roar, louder than the one before.

"RRRROOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWRRRRRRRR!"

In the silence that followed I looked at the water again, pacing back and forth in order to admire my reflection and get a sense of this new form.

After about ten minutes I smelled something new. I froze, attempting to identify it, my mouth opening slightly letting air cross the roof of my mouth as I searched for the source of the new smell.

My ears pricked when I heard it, a small rustle to my left. My eyesight, while better in the dark, had a limited field of vision, so I whipped my entire head around in order to see. Turning to the source, part of me was scared to death of what I might find, and the other part primed to attack.

The other part didn't feel like me. It felt more... _instinctual._ It felt like it was the more lion half of my brain in this state...like I was a little less human.

I got a glimpse of something white in the corner of my eye as my head turned. I focused on it as it stopped in the clearing, looking directly at me.

A large, white hare sat there, it's little eyes trained on me, looking at me curiously, it's nose twitching every few seconds.

The longer it stared at me, the more I got the feeling it was asking, "Who are you?"

I must've been imagining things. Could I talk to other animals when in my animagus form?

Before I could even think of a response, Mr. Norris (or better known as Chuck) came streaking through, quickly followed by a barking Snuffles, both scaring off the hare.

Chuck was a large, leopard-spotted cat, and was probably half-kneazle, while Snuffles was Lily Potter's well known black labrador puppy that loved to chase Chuck around Hogwarts.

Snuffles caught up to Chuck as he reached the center of the clearing and spotted me, skidding to a halt. He sat and stared at me, just as the hare had, allowing Snuffles to climb on him, growling and chewing on anything he could get his little mouth around.

Chuck broke his gaze when he'd decided he had enough of Snuffles, and turned around to tackle him.

While I was watching the two fight, I noticed that the hare had returned and perched himself on the rock with my clothing, sniffing it curiously.

Deciding to let him be so long as my clothes remained undisturbed, I sighed and sat down, which was much harder to do when you've got a whole new set of hindquarters, landing with a huff and continuing to watch Chuck and Snuffles fight.

I still couldn't believe that this was happening. I could turn into a lion. A. LION.

How awesome was that?

Lost in thought, I didn't notice the other three creatures in the clearing until they were nearly a stride's length away.

Standing up quickly with a low growl forming in the back of my throat, I backed up, looking them up and down for signs of a threat.

One was a horse, a huge one at that, pitch black, with a long, white mane and tail, the hair looking shiny and silky to the touch. The horse walked up to the hare, nudging it gently before sniffing my clothes as well. Meanwhile, the hare jumped up onto the horse's back, quickly settling in and making itself comfortable, as if it'd been there a thousand times before.

The second creature was a small red wolf, it's large blue eyes trained on me as it walked straight towards me, ears pricked and mouth wide in a fox-like grin.

The third was a creature that I'd least expect to find in these woods.

It was a lioness. Her fur was a dark, almost burnt gold, with eyes the color of a summer sunset, splashed with reds and yellows. Her expression was curious, but when I caught her eye, she flinched and bared her teeth, displaying a series of sharp canines that looked like they'd been used before.

Ironically, I was of the same species as the creature I least expected to find.

I found myself backed into a corner, the pond and several trees directly behind me, with the horse to my left, the lioness to my right, and the red wolf straight ahead. Chuck and Snuffles had long since disappeared.

"GRRRRRRR."

I growled at them and straightened up, hoping that my size would scare them off. They hardly seemed to notice, and continued on. I decided my best strategy was to take on the red wolf, who was easily the smallest, and then make a run for it.

I stood shoulders tensed, muscles taut, and ready to attack when they all stopped.

As I watched them all, it seemed as if they were having some sort of conversation, perhaps arguement. They looked at each other, sometimes the horse shaking it's head, mane flying every which way, or the lioness chuffing occasionally. Even the hare seemed to have spoken, when it jumped off of the horse's back, standing on a rock and looking at them all, nose twitching continually. It was cut off when the wolf gave a sharp bark, and climbed back up onto the horse's back.

Once the wolf barked, the rest seemed to back off a few steps, while the wolf drew closer. As it approached, I couldn't help but get caught in those clear blue eyes that stared me down, and yet seemed familiar.

With another bark, the wolf turned and launched itself into the air, and I watched it's silhouette morph in the air until a familiar looking girl landed a few strides in front of me.

"Well, well, well…" She murmured, stepping closer. "Whatever shall we do with you Leo Jordan?"

My head tilted, and I must have looked at her with an odd expression of confusion, because she laughed loudly.

She smirked and tossed her strawberry blond hair over her shoulder as she drew close. As her hand came to rest on my nose, she looked at me with the same blue eyes I'd seen before on the wolf, but on a human face, I finally recognized them.

I tried to say her name, but it only came out as a chuff, which caused her to laugh again.

"Oh, Leo. We need to work on your communication skills." She grinned at me merrily, before glancing back at the others for a moment and then stepping back.

"I'm sure you've guessed that we aren't your regular wolf, lion, horse or hare." She gestured to the others.

I rolled my eyes and chuffed again, which only made her laugh louder.

"Very well then Leo, I'll get to the point." Her smile faded and her expression turned serious. "You are sworn to secrecy if you agree to join us. You tell another living soul about us and you won't live another week. Got it?"

I did the only thing I could think to do, shake my head up and down vigorously.

Dominique Weasley smiled at this and winked.

"Alright then. Leo, welcome to the Lion's Den."

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 **Hey everyone! Hope you enjoyed this story! There's a _slight_ possibility that I'll expand on it, but it's unlikely (although I will definitely end up making some edits at some point). Thanks for reading!**


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